Drink Up! Thanks to generous contributions from our community, Piccolo Park is getting a drinking fountain installed this week! Please join us to celebrate!
Drinking Fountain Dedication & Ribbon Cutting
9 aM, Saturday, July 28
Piccolo Park , SE 28th (between Division & Clinton), PORTLAND, OR
Drinks, treats and a small party!
All are invited! Bring the kids, stay and play!
About the Park:
Piccolo Park, located between SE Division and Clinton Streets at 28th Avenue, is the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood’s only city park with a playground. The small park is a symbol of how community involvement can create lemonade out of lemons. Once a collection of houses, demolished and set aside for the Mount Hood Freeway Project in the early 1970s, the park is now a special place, cherished by the flourishing community of young families in southeast Portland.
Why a Fountain:
This project is a great example of how Portland succeeds when neighbors unite with community leaders to get the job done. At the same time the city was considering major budget cuts to the parks bureau, neighbors stepped forward to raise the $7,000 needed for this basic amenity.
Local developer Randy Rapaport was at the park with his 4 year-old god child when the inspiration to install a drinking fountain hit. “The impulse to get this going came while pushing Greta Lucy Sparrow on a swing at Piccolo Park. She indicated to me in a non-verbal, transpersonal manner that a water fountain was desired,” says Rapaport. After making a few phone calls, Rapaport was able to find out how much it would cost and who to coordinate with to make it a reality.
Bill Crawford, Vice Chair for Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood Development, also contributed to the fountain fund. “I can’t think of any better way to make my community a better place,” he says. “Now my one-year-old daughter can have water-fights at future birthday parties here, or just cool off after walking the dog.”
In just a few short months, neighbors banded together to raise the rest of the money needed for Portland Parks & Recreation to get it installed. This project took hold fast and successfully thanks to fiscal sponsorship and guidance by the Portland Parks Foundation.
Please join us Saturday, July 28th at 9 a.m. to celebrate our success!
